When God is All You Have 4/11/2013

"Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction." Exo 16:4

There are times in each of our lives that we feel we have reached the end of our rope.  Our own ideas, knowledge, skills and abilities have taken us as far as we can go.  The people of Israel, having just been liberated from 430 years of slavery and having benefited by the miracle of crossing a parted Red Sea on dry land while their enemies perished, found themselves in such a position.  They were in the wilderness and all the food they brought with them had been consumed.  They had neither the time or the ability to plant crops in an infertile desert that could feed them.  They had most certainly exhausted all that they could do for themselves.

Beloved, what do we do in such situations?  To whom do we turn?  When our health fails and the doctors have no answers, when relationships deteriorate and the counselor throws up his hands, when a loved one passes and the grief is insurmountable and when sin has overcome us and we can no longer see the Light, what do we do?  Reach out to the Master of the universe.  Reach out to the Creator of all things.  Reach out to the One who does all things well.  Go to the Father.

God knew the plight of the Hebrews, not just because He knows all things but because He had been with them the whole time.  There would have been no need to free them from bondage only to allow them to perish in the wilderness.  Hundreds of years earlier, He made known to Abraham that He had a plan for His people.  Though they experienced trials and tribulations along their journey, they were never without the saving grace and provision of the Almighty.  He literally fed them from His own hand when they could do nothing for themselves.  Further, He not only fed the estimated 2 million men, women and children plus livestock day and night, but He did so for 40 years until such time they entered the Promised Land, a place described as being filled with milk and honey, a place that He prepared for them.

As God cared for our progenitors in the faith, He most surely does for us.  Know that even when we are at our lowest, we are never alone and that God has a plan for us.  Sometimes, we have to be in a position where God is all we have in order to fully know, understand and believe that God is all we need.  That same God has a place prepared for you and me.

Committed,

Lee

Let the Redeemed Say So-1/26/2012

"And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke." Acts 6:8

Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit. We are introduced him early in Acts 6 as one of the men chosen to see to the daily ministrations of the Hellenistic widows. They were not called deacons, but were considered the first. It happens that Stephen was also a powerful and passionate proclaimer of the word who also had spiritual gifts that allowed him to perform great wonders and signs among the people. Unfortunately, his message was not popular with everyone. He soon found himself with detractors and disputers who ultimately had him brought to the ruling counsel to give an account of himself and to answer the false charges of blasphemy levied against him.

Beloved, there is much we can learn from Stephen. He was absolutely fearless in speaking up for the cause of Christ. He was not ashamed of the gospel nor afraid to tell the truth to whomever would listen. God encourages us all to speak as His oracles or the very utterances of God (1 Pet 4:11). When we do this, there will be people who will disagree but the truth cannot be disputed. We must know that, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but to us which are saved it is the power of God.

Stephen so angered the establishment that they dragged him out of the assembly and stoned him. In the midst of this event, however, Stephen was given a wonderful gift: "But he being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God" Acts 7:55. Consider this the highest most divine support of the man, the message and the method.

Let us be not afraid to stand up for the Lord in whom we believe or better put, "let the redeemed of the Lord says so!"

Rejoicing in the Lord,

Lee

The Scale of God's Love-1/10/2012

"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well." Ps 139:13-14

Do you ever consider the path of atoms as they rush and around to make up the components of all there is? You probably do not think much about cells, their division or any of their inner workings. Why not? Too small right? Absolutely below your concern right?

Consider this. We inhabit the earth and it is a pretty big place. Just to give it scale, it took four years, 21 million steps and 22 pairs of leather shoes for Dave Kunst to complete his record-making 14,450 mile walk around the Earth in
1974. But when you consider the size of the earth, it does not even approach the largest planet traveling around the nearest star (the sun). 1,321.3 earths could fit inside Jupiter, the largest planet. 926 Jupiters (or 1.3 million earths) could fit inside the sun, the largest object in our solar system. As immense as our sun is, it is only mid-sized as stars go. One of the largest stars known is called Betelgeuse. 1 billion of our suns could fit inside that. Billions of Betelgeuses could fit into a galaxy and there are billions of galaxies in the known universe. Is your mind numb yet?

Beloved the one true and living God spoke all of this and more into existence. In this life, man will never know the vastness and complexity of his creation. That same God condescended to lovingly form in the womb ___________(insert your name here) and daily provides for all of ___________(insert your name here) needs. As we go about lives with less significance than that with which we would credit bacteria relative to the grand scheme, remember that God thought enough of you to create, love and care for you. And when you lost your way, he took on less than insignificant flesh to make a way for you to get back home. As you go about your days, think on these things.

Rejoicing in the Lord,
Lee

Excuses, Excuses-1/5/2012

"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’" Luke 14:18-20

Beloved, God has prepared a banquet of life that defies description and exceeds imagination. He has made it available out of his great love for his children. It is not just a banquet of the most amazing food and drink imaginable, but of fellowship, peace, joy, serenity and the everlasting presence of himself! It is not possible to exceed what God has for us. He has prepared it and taken care of all of its cost through the sacrifice of his only begotten, Jesus.

Why then do we do all we can to avoid it? What possible excuses can we offer for refusing such an offer. One excuse is that we allow our possessions to hinder us. We become so involved in that which God has blessed us with, we lose sight of not only the source of those blessings but the fact that there is so much more available. Work and money are also on the list. We are so involved in the pursuit of wealth, material gain, position and power, we forget that we are the children of the Creator. There is no higher stature. Finally, relationships and sex improperly used can be lethal to our spiritual lives. God has given generous parameters for each, yet we find ways and reasons to go beyond what is sanctioned, thereby taking a rebellious stance before the Lord.

We must be aware of these pitfalls. Short sight can result in a long fall. God freely offers that which we are unable to obtain ourselves, however, an offer refused will ultimately be an offer withdrawn. There are too many that see the value of a relationship with God for his goodness to go squandered. The invitation has been extended. Accept it daily.

Rejoicing in the Lord,

Lee

Our Protector-10/21/2011

"Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you." Deut 23:14

It is important that we know God is intimately involved in our individual and corporate lives. We are his people and He is our God. He knows all, can do everything and is everywhere at all times. Having created us, He has chosen to provide for us, forgive us, extend His grace and mercy to us and even take on flesh to live among us. He indeed is in the midst of our very lives.

In this context, His purpose is revealed in one of His many names, Jehovah-Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, our Protector, Psa 46:7. Not only is He present, but He is actively engaged in establishing a hedge of safety around us. You will recall, however, that where God is, sin cannot be. Moses was required to remove his shoes when He was on holy ground. When Jesus asked, "Why have you forsaken me?" it was because God could not be where sin was, even to comfort His own son on whose shoulders the sins of the world hung.

Beloved, we should not be under any illusion that anything has changed. God is still holy and still requires holiness of us. We must be ever diligent as it relates to our individual lives and the lives of our congregations. God will not be where sin is and where God is not actively protecting, the enemy can walk right in and destroy. Do not be caught dead without Him.

Loving Like Jesus,

Lee

Follow His Lead-9/13/2011

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Psa 23:1

So begins one of the most beautiful and well known passages of scripture to be found within the pages of inspiration. Though we may know the words by heart, do we understand their meaning? Written by one who himself was once responsible for tending sheep, the correlation is more powerful than the words themselves.

We, analogized as sheep throughout scripture, have a need to be led. Even with leadership we tend to wander off and must be retrieved for our own good, lest we fall into peril, even death. We depend on the Shepherd to show us the safe and right way to go. This is in opposition to being driven like cattle. We do not respond well to being pushed from behind, but led from the front.

Our Shepherd likewise provides for all of our needs. This is accomplished because He knows what we need and knows how and where to lead us to obtain what is necessary for the extension of our lives. He provides things that we, in and of ourselves, would not be able to acquire.

What a wonderful Shepherd we have. He has said, "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14. If we would but follow where He leads, we will find ourselves in the ultimate eternal pasture.



Loving Like Jesus,

Lee

Take it to God-9/12/2011

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." 1 Pet 5:6-7

Having addressed the elders of the flock to lead with righteousness and humility, the apostle Peter turns his attention to the members of the body and gives them this twofold advice. First, we are to humble ourselves. This humility involves first becoming subservient to God. Too often we march to the beat of our own drum when it is neither our drum or ability derived from self to play it. We must remember the Lord in all things we do and do them as we are performing them both for Him and under his loving and watchful eye. This humility extends to those whom He has given charge over us, particularly in the church. "He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering..." Eph 4:11. We are to accept their headship as it relates to our spiritual lives because God has so placed them.

Peter then advises that all place their cares and concerns upon God. In truth, He is the only one that can handle them anyway. He is the source of all righteousness but He is also the source for all provision. There is nothing that is too hard for the Lord. When man lets us down, God is there. And though He will see to our needs (and many wants) in His own due time and in His own way, not one among us can look back and fail to see Him moving and working in our lives. In fact, we ought to be able to look into our present circumstances and see the same thing. This then gives confidence that He is already working out our future.

Beloved, we must strive daily to make God real in our lives. This is not to question His existence but to encourage us to bring Him from the theoretical to the actual in our own minds and hearts. Remember that Yahweh is self existent and does not need us to believe in order for Him to be. He is the great I AM, revealing that if there is nothing else that exists, He does. This, among so many other things, makes Him worthy of our trust and confidence. In all that we may do, experience or even suffer, know that He, as a mother of a new born infant, cares for us.

Loving Like Jesus,

Lee

God Provides-6/13/2011

Beloved,

Heartfelt thanks for all who prayed for the success of the first annual St. Louis Area Family Gospel Cruise. We had a glorious time in the Lord and all who went came away encouraged, edified and more educated. It was wonderful to see the beauty of God's creation, fellowship with the saints, study His word and build new bonds.

Each day, our study focused on a lesson that took place on the water. This week, I will share those lessons with you, faithful reader.

"The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." Gen 1:2

On a cruise, we are surrounded by water. This can be a very surreal sight. Just hours ago we were surrounded by asphalt, brick, mortar, steel and cement. Today, we visited a small island in the Bahamas with no asphalt, brick or mortar to speak of. As the travelers debarked for a day of fun, individuals were noticed, then people by the tens, hundreds and then thousands. There were big ones, small ones, male ones, female ones, young ones, old ones and folks form dozens of countries.

This all served to remind me of creation. In Gen 1:1, the scriptures reveal that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In verse 2, the focus of the account is the earth. Water is the first created thing mentioned. In fact,the argument could be made that all that could be seen in the beginning was water. By simply looking out to the horizon, we can get a glimpse of what the earth may have looked like in it's infancy. Verse 6 goes on to say that the sky was created to separate the waters on the surface from the waters in the sky (clouds) and verse 9 sees the gathering of the waters into their designated areas thereby giving place to the land. On the land grew the trees and lived the animals and man. So even on the fist day of our journey, we have been reminded of the first days of the Master's creation.

Beloved, allow these true wonders to remind us that God provides. In His eternal self existence, He needed nothing. He embarked on this creative enterprise for His own glory and for the benefit of His creation's pinnacle, mankind. In creating all that we know, see and are, He has provided all we need to be fruitful, multiply and give Him all the glory!

Loving Like Jesus,

Lee